And so it begins again. The warlock has been chillin in Felwood for about a week now (unfortunately Felwood is lacking in Inns, so no rested bonus for me) while greens for disenchanting have been piling up in his mailbox. Why you ask? I have rolled a druid. Playing through this time with the Significant Other (who has rolled a mage) has been another very different experience.

It is certainly the scuttlebutt around town that a new hero class will be unveiled at the upcoming BlizzCon 09, when the next expansion will be previewed (or at least we’ll be thrown some tidbits like a trailer ot something). Of course, once you get past the arguments for and against whether Blizzard will release a new hero class, or even if they will mention the next expansion (Cataclysm? Maelstrom? Emerald Dream?). But assuming they do…

First apologies. It’s been a crazy week of work here, and I went away for the weekend. Excuses, excuses, but still.

Secondly, just a little shout out to myself. Last night I joined in a guild run with some good friends of mine and we took out Sartharion. I know Obsidian Sanctum is a little raid, but still it felt good to *finally* get my DK out and about, and see him contribute to a tough fight. I thought it would never happen.

Respect to all those out there who have leveled clothies. You know who you are, and you can go right ahead and pat yourself on the back now. You have my permission. Having played through as the three plate-wearing melee classes, of course I knew rolling a weak, tea-sipping arcane-wielding warlock would be a change of pace from my blood-drinking, fear-inspiring experience of whirling blades, metal and spiky armour that Paladins, Death Knights or Warriors provide. But I didn’t think it would be so hard.

This has ignited a rather furious debate. Both sides of the argument (people are fairly firmly divided and are either for it or vehemently against it) have salient points. On the other hands, I don’t like the taste of their morality. I know I’m weighing in late, but here’s my two cents.

I walked across the park today, and the council workers seem to have finally finished vacuuming up all the fallen leaves that carpeted the grass and turned the hill from green to gold. A few lost leaves remain, some still grimly hanging onto the oak trees, brown and purple in the gloom like grapes in a titan’s vineyard. The lake was as blunt as the sky, and I was reminded of Thomas Hardy’s ‘Neutral Tones’.

I watched a fascinating episode of Good Game last night [1], and coupled with a few things I’ve read recently and been churning over in my mind, some conclusions have coalesced from the aether. What stories do games tell? Games have almost always had an element of storytelling integrated rather tightly with the gameplay and the game itself. But why?

Having started a warrior and druid with the Refer-a-Friend bonus (300% exp) the Significant Other and I managed to power through to level 58 fairly quickly, at which point we promtply purchased the expansion packs, and re-rolled DKs. Fairly standard attitude for new players I imagine! Having since worked on those DKs for the last couple of months, our R-a-F bonus has expired (only lasts 90 days). Unfortunately it expired right in the midst of our pally grind – at least we got them to 21 before it ran out. We had completed the Draenei starting zones, and (for sentimentality reasons) I suggested Duskwood as the next target for leveling. It was either that or Ashenvale, and while Ashenvale is a fun place, I really enjoyed the story arcs and quests chains in Duskwood the first time around.

I have missed the rested bonus, and the little purple numbers of experience popping up on my screen after each kill/quest/discovery, ever since I dinged 80 on my death knight. He’s currently 19,345 points on his way to 81, and looks to stay there until WoW 4.0 or whenever Blizzard decide to start the treadmill to 90.

So what now? I’ve been 80 for almost a month now. Done all the Heroics, got some loot, missed out on some more. Sunk a cool 5k just to fly around Northrend at speeds greater than retarded snail, then another 1k to dual-spec. Got the Bronze Drake off Heroic CoS to look a bit nicer when I fly off Dun Nifflehem for my daily cash grind. Decided I actually enjoy PvP and picked up a full set of gear costing thousands of honour, and countless days spamming Alterac Valley repeatedly. Got the [Epic] achievement, and a full complement of shiny purples. But now what?